Christie: Bad Week for the Governor is Good Week for the Candidate

It was a tough Election Day for Assembly Republicans in New Jersey. They lost three seats in the lower house, giving Democrats their largest majority in the legislative body in 35 years.

The losses at the polls seem to be just another indication that Gov. Chris Christie isn't popular in his home state. He's polling around 30 percent, recently suffered the first veto override of his governorship, and didn't make one campaign appearance for Assembly Republicans leading up to the election — many candidates avoided mentioning him altogether.

But it's not all bad news for the 2016 presidential candidate. Fresh off a sharp debate performance last week, Christie's national poll numbers are on the upswing, and a video of the governor detailing a friend's drug addiction has become a viral hit, garnering 4 million views in less than a week.

"These are huge numbers. His biggest YouTube moment — that time he yelled at a teacher — only has 1.5 million views," WNYC reporter Matt Katz told All Things Considered host Jami Floyd. "I'm not sure if this is going to move Republican voters to actually back him, but this kind of attention for this kind of growing problem in the country can't hurt."

Christie is scheduled to appear at a drug addiction facility in New Hampshire later this week.

Matt Katz, New Jersey Public Radio/WNYC

Political reporter Matt Katz is The Christie Tracker at WNYC.org. NJ Spotlight is hosting his blog and running his stories, which can also be heard on WNYC 93.9 FM and 820 AM, as well as New Jersey Public Radio: Trenton 88.1, Sussex 88.5, Netcong 89.3, and Toms River 90.3.